TRAVEL | BULGARIA | CELEBRATION
A Graduation Celebration in Bulgaria
Celebrating a University graduation in Gabrovo, Bulgaria!
It was December 2015 when Chris and I went on our first overseas trip together.
It was Chris’ first overseas trip ever!
We wanted to ski in Europe (we met on a ski hill!) so had decided that Bulgaria would be a good place to do it. We had done some research and it was certainly one of the cheaper regions to ski, and a place like Bulgaria interested us. It surely wasn’t a typical place to travel to.
After going through a divorce and the trials and tribulations of life, I realized that I hadn’t been overseas in 8 long years (For reference sake, I was 39 at the time of this trip.) In fact, I had a brand new passport that I had gotten, and there was not one stamp in it! I was actually quite horrified when I realized that fact and made it my sole mission to get traveling again.
I knew that I needed to climb out of the bubble that I had been existing in, and I wanted to experience life again.
The trip was for 6 weeks and we rounded the entire adventure out with stops in Greece and Italy as well. You know, just so we could see more of Europe since we had made the massive hop across the pond that we call the Atlantic Ocean, after all.
Being that I hadn’t traveled in so long, I was VERY rusty. I actually am embarrassed, looking back, to see how rusty I was. Not only that, we were set to backpack at a pretty fast pace, and I totally underestimated our aging and how it would affect our energy levels and our ability to travel fast.
I jumped into Bulgaria as if no years had passed me by, but I soon learned that getting old certainly brings some changes with it, and time and time again I was shown that I just didn’t (and couldn’t) do things the same as I used to.
Gabrovo was just our second stop on our trip. We had spent 2 nights in the capital of Sofia, and we were looking forward to seeing more of the country. We had a Wwoofing gig lined up in Greece, but had 2 weeks stretched out before us to explore Bulgaria.
We would be flying back to Canada from Sofia at the end of the trip, so would save the skiing portion of our trip until then.
*Most of this text was previously published in my blog Just Some Wandering and is written from the perspective of being there.
As our bus pulled into Gabrovo, located amongst the mountains of Bulgaria, we were eager with anticipation to explore yet another aspect of this lovely country. Our days and nights spent in Sofia were great, but we yearned to explore the countryside and see what adventures we could find.
About a month before we left on our trip, I was messaged by a young man named Ahmed, through the Couchsurfing network. One of the features of The Couchsurfing website is that you can post an upcoming trip to your profile, and it automatically sends out a message to every host of your destination place, letting them know you are coming and in need of accommodation. We received offers from 2 hosts, the other was from Stara Zagora.
However, for this particular period of time, the first host to offer was not available, so we opted to visit Ahmed in Gabrovo.
We became friends on Facebook so we could communicate easier, and he forewarned me that he really didn’t have room for 2 people, as he lives in a very small apartment with only room for one queen size bed. But, he offered to find us a spot in the village center for a reasonable price. I was intrigued with the town, as it was a bit off the beaten track.
I had messaged Ahmed while we were in Sofia, and told him of our plans. Before leaving he told me that he wouldn’t be able to meet us at the bus, but his friend would. We arrived at the bus station, later than we had expected, and initially saw no one that looked to be picking someone up. I immediately checked for a wifi hot spot so that we could communicate with him if need be.
Now, I must stop here to tell you that Bulgaria has free wifi absolutely EVERYWHERE! I’m talking in every coffee shop, restaurant, ON THE BUS, bus stations, parks….you name it! Ahmed told me that having wifi is so normal that if an establishment doesn’t have it, they lose business. We have been very impressed with the access to the Internet, much better than many places in Canada.
So I logged into the wifi at the station and my phone started ringing instantly, a phone call through Facebook. This is something totally new to me, so I hesitantly said “Hello?”
I heard, “Hello Jillian, this is Ahmed.” His lovely Britishesque accent and wonderful pronunciations struck me instantly.
I had obviously checked out his Facebook profile and had learned that he was 24 years old. His wonderful grasp of our language, made me feel like I was speaking with an old British scholar, positioned somewhere much later in life.
“I’m sorry that I’m not there to meet you. But my friend should be there somewhere, maybe just walk to the cafe and you will find him.”
Just as he was saying this, a group of three young men walked up to us. One stepped forward speaking English, and I told him Ahmed was on the phone. I handed it to him, he spoke to him, then he handed it back to me.
“Hello Jillian, this is how this is going to work. I have arranged accommodation for you in the center of town for 30 Lev (roughly $22 CAD), I hope that’s okay?”
“Yes,” I said, “That is fine.”
“Okay good, my friend is going to put you in a taxi and tell the taxi driver where to go. This should cost you no more than 2–3 Lev. Once you arrive, the owner will show you to your room.”
“Okay, that sounds really great! Thank you so much!” I proclaimed, absolutely in awe of the efforts that were being made to accommodate us. He told me that he was helping his family chop wood, and would contact us later to get together for dinner.
We found our accommodation after the taxi driver stopped to chat with a few people along the way, we assume trying to get directions. We were really happy with our little room despite the fact that Chris had to sleep on the bed that pulled out from the couch.
Wow! We were so excited and appreciative of what Ahmed had set up for us! His amazing hospitality did not pass us by. We marveled at our cute little abode for a while, then headed out to see the town.
Stunning architecture lined little pedestrian walkways, large carvings and statues adorned the parks and bridges, and a lovely river ran through the center of the village. We strolled around for a while, then headed back to our oasis. Still weary with jet lag, we immediately fell into a long deep sleep.
Around 7:00 Ahmed phoned again to tell us that he was heading into the village, was going to pick up his girlfriend, then would head over to meet us so that we could go out for dinner.
After checking out our room, the four of us made our way to the restaurant where we also met his friend Ivel. It was a nice meal and despite Ahmed's young age, we were very impressed with his knowledge of the world. Ahmed had hosted many travelers before, including a French Canadian, so he was knowledgeable about many other cultures and places. He and Ivel had both traveled within Europe, spending a length of time in both England and Scotland.
We were told at dinner that they were heading out to the club later on, and we were welcome to join them. Apparently, it was graduation day for the local technical University, and a famous Bulgarian, from Gabrovo itself, was going to be singing.
We were told that he is the Justin Beiber of Bulgaria!
Not two to miss opportunities to party, and despite feeling tired from jet lag, we decided to tag along.
We arrived at the club in our usual traveling clothes, (t-shirts, hiking boots, and zip-off pants), and immediately felt VERY underdressed! Not to mention, VERY old!
Outside the doors were dozens of University graduates and dates, very fancily dressed, clamoring to get in. We stood in line, sort of. Ahmed kept announcing “Come on guys”, as he gripped his girlfriend's hand and pushed us ever so gently to the front of the pack. He had a saying that he kept announcing, something to do with impudence, but the gist was that if we wanted to get anywhere in life, we needed to be impudent as well!
Needless to say, we were quite entertained.
We would learn on this trip that Canadian manners don’t get you far in Europe!
We finally broke through the outer doors and jostled and pushed our way through the next wall of people to get into the actual party. I kept thinking that as soon as we got in, there would be room to breathe. I was VERY wrong! We paid our entry and got our stamp as we heard from the bouncer “Welcome Canada!” Obviously, Ahmed had told him we were visitors.
We squeeeeeeeeezed ourselves into what had to be the smokiest, smoke-filled room I have been in, since being 19 years old! At least every second person had a cigarette on the go! Wow! I thought to myself, ‘did I really subject myself to this pollution on a regular basis as a kid?’
Yes, yes I did!
I remember, vaguely, my Dad complaining of the stench of cigarette smoke from my jacket and clothes, many times after a wild night of partying as a teen. But, I never much noticed back then. I guess we were just used to it. But, with the smoking laws in Canada now making everyone smoke outside, we simply are not used to it inside, and it was a huge shock.
People were packed in like sardines. We swerved our way around the room trying to find a spot for 5 of us to stand. Back and forth we snaked through the crowds until we settled on a less-than-ideal spot. Chris and I were jammed against the stage, and we were in a line of constantly moving people, squeezing past us to go back and forth along this particular corridor.
The music was blaring from speakers just below our butts, and it shook us to our core.
I was standing there, feeling the music vibrate me, sucking my stomach in so people could walk past, watching people sit and smoke, when, without any sort of warning, I had the gobsmacking realization that I was too old for this!
How did it happen? I used to love hanging out in these places, always pushing and shoving to get back and forth. Dancing and partying with reckless abandon. However, it became very clear to me at that moment that this was not for me anymore, and maybe coming there had been a mistake.
I stewed in my misery of the situation for a few minutes, and then I actually took a good look around me. I realized that we were part of a celebration! A celebration of the excitement of youth, the prospects of a whole big future ahead of them, and the glory of living life!
We were in BULGARIA and we were having an EXPERIENCE!
Isn’t this what I have wanted? Isn’t this what life is all about?
It was with this realization, that I started to focus on all that was good at that moment. I decided that I probably would not die from lung cancer that night, and my hearing would likely not be damaged forever (okay maybe it would?).
I decided that I was going to enjoy myself because we were part of something special and we were ALIVE!
We danced a bit, jostled around amongst the students, shared a bottle of whiskey and coke with the gang, and hung out for as long as we could. Unfortunately, by 1:30 am, we were both pretty exhausted.
We told Ahmed that we were leaving (unfortunately the Bulgarian Justin Beiber had not even started yet) and said our goodbyes, promising to see him the next day at some point.
We headed back to our room, all the while laughing and recalling the adventures of the night. We were high on life!
We were ALIVE and we were in BULGARIA!
We put our stinky clothes in their own zipped-up bag, ready for the laundry, had a shower, then drifted off to sleep with the throngs of a steady bass beat still alive in our heads.
Thanks for joining me during a fun Bulgarian celebration! This trip really solidified my want to travel more. I had spent far too long cooped up in Canada, and I needed to be free.
Little did we know that almost one year later, we would make the decision to sell all of our things and travel full time.
This trip was the catalyst to all of that!
Thanks for reading! Happy travels!
xo Jill
PS We did go skiing in Bulgaria! Read about it here:)
This post is in response to the Globetrotters prompt “Celebrations Around the World.”
Check out some other celebration stories by fellow globetrotters:
Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We paint FREE murals in exchange for accommodation. Check us out on Ko-fi!
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